, 1887-03-19
A HOLOCAUST.
The Richmond Hotel and st.
James Hall Destroyed.
Scenes Of Horror in the
Burning Building.
Mad With Terror, the Inmates
Leap From the Windows,
And are Dashed to Death in the
Streets Below.

BUFFALO, March l8.-The Richmond
hotel and St. James hall were burned
early this morning. The loss is fully
$500, 900. A number of lives are reported
lost, and many injured. The building is
situated at the corner of Main and Eagle
streets, extending through to Washington
street. The fire was discovered at $3.50
this morning in the Richmond hotel. An
alarm was sounded and the fire depart
ment responded promptly. The house
contained a large number of guests, and
their heartrending shrieks could plainly be
heard. Ladders were raised as soon as
possible, and as many as could be were
taken out. A large number of them were
unable to effect their escape.
At 4 o'clock the entire Richmond, st.
James hall and other property in the
block were doomed to speedy destruction.
The whole place burned like finder. The
corridor in the center Of the building act
ed as a great funnel, and as the flames
streamed upwards the guests found them
selves imprisoned by walls of fire. The
screams of the unfortunates could be
heard for blocks, and at many of the
windows they could be seen in their night
clothes, calling wildly for help. At one
of the third story windows two guests
were seen by the crowd to fall back into
the flames. One man jumped from the
fifth story to the roof of a two story build
ing adjoining; he was terribly injured.
The number of those injured is not ex-
actly known.
Hon. NJ. w. Barse, of Olean, N. Y,
was terribly injured about the hands and
feet.
The rapidly OF the fire, cutting off all
means of escape, led some people to leap
for life from the windows; others got
down the fire escapes or on ladders raised
by the fire department. The shrieks and
cries of the poor people in the upper
stories of the burning structure were
heartrending. Ope man mad with terror
leaped from the third story window and
was picked up from the stone sidewalk on
Main street, a mangled and bleeding
corpse. Several who succeeded in max
ing their escape we're badly injured and
burned, and some of these will probably
die; others more fortunate escaped with
slight injuries. 1t is now believed that at
least twelve persons we're burned to death.
There were l25 persons in the hotel,
seventy of whom were transient guests,
eight boarders and the remainder porters,
bellboys, the families Of the proprietors
and clerks. Twenty-two~ef these were
rescued from windows by fremen, twenty
two are at the hospitals and a large num-
Der made their escape by other means.
The origin of the fire is unknown.
Airport, the night clerk, says: THE fire
started in the cloak room under the stair
way at $50. There was nobody up but
myself. the night porter and the bellboy.
| pulled all four of the fire alarms on the
different floors, and the people came fly
ing down in their night clothes. The fire
followed the elevator and inside of five
minutes it reached the top floor. l
rushed out of doors, after doing all |
could"
Bellboy Plummer tells his experience as
follows.
II was busting the reading room when
l heard a shout and saw flames coming up
the stairway from the basement. Mr..
Airport and | turned on the hose under
the main stairway. We Strengthened the
hose out and turned the valve, but the
water would not run. Then we gave the
alarm. The Waterman and | got a plank
and broke in the Eagle street entrance to
the hotel. Then we got the plank under
the fire escape and we helped the people
down. think there were about eighty
four guests in the house,
The spread of the flames was frightful
in its rapidity. The elevator shaft served
as a flue for the flames, and the whole
structure was enveloped in a few moments.
As the guests we're aroused and saw the
interior exit cut off, they turned to the
windows. They could be seen in their
night clothes, standing out clear and vivid
before the lurid background of fame.
Their screams were horrible to hear, and
they could be heard for blocks. The fire.
men did noble work and confined the fire
to the narrow limits of the three buildings
named. Their work of rescue had many
exciting incidents. The telegraph wires
were as usual in the way of the ladder
brigade, and much valuable time was lost
in getting ladders past them. The fire,
which was under control by 3 o'clock, was
confined to the Richmond hotel and mu-
scum property and the saloon of James
Creighton, and the cigar store of j. q.
Palacio, on Main street.
Hugo V, Altshul, Of New York, as